Crypto: Bitcoin Policy Institute, Fedi, Cornell To Study American Views On...

Cornell’s Brooks School Tech Policy Institute is joining as the academic partner, while Fedi brings product and user behavior insights and BPI focuses on policy and communications.

Public concern about data collection is on the rise. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 71% of US adults were very or somewhat concerned about how the government used the data it collected about them, up from 64% in 2019. About two‑thirds said they understood little or nothing about what companies did with their personal data.

US authorities brought criminal cases against developers of non‑custodial services such as Samourai Wallet and Tornado Cash, alleging they operated unlicensed money‑transmitting businesses and helped move illicit funds through their software.

In both cases, developers ultimately faced criminal convictions and multi‑year prison sentences or ongoing liability risk.

Related: After Samourai, DOJ’s money-transmitter theory now looms over crypto mixers

In Washington, the ongoing crypto market structure bill has emerged as a key battleground over the future of developers and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Industry organizations, including the DeFi Education Fund, have urged lawmakers to provide “robust, nationwide protections” for software developers and non‑custodial infrastructure, warning that vague obligations could push builders offshore or force them into traditional financial‑intermediary roles.

Variant chief legal officer Jake Chervinsky framed DeFi as his “red line” in the market structure debate, arguing that the bill must protect DeFi developers and warning that, without clear safeguards, a future regulator could still try to “kill DeFi” in the United States.

Cointelegraph contacted the Bitcoin Policy Institute for additional comment, but had not received a response by publication time.

Source: CoinTelegraph